I am a native Californian. I love my state but lately California has been suffering from transgressions that have caused great divide among its citizens. On the Sunday before the elections, one of our deacons shared with us during Mass the seriousness of Proposition One. He encouraged us to vote NO! This proposition, once written into the California constitution will allow women to get an abortion up to nine months. That’s full-term, and that’s the worst part of the many proposals connected to this proposition. Never in my life would I have believed that this proposition would pass. I was so preoccupied with traveling out of state that I did not see the results until I got home five days after the election.
One God
You cannot serve God and vote in favor for this proposition. You must realize that you are breaking one of the Ten Commandments. How can you attend a church service, praise and worship God, receive communion and not understand the ramifications of your careless actions? It is evident that many who voted in favor of this proposition were blinded by the facts, or perhaps they have no respect for human life. We all serve ONE GOD. This God comes with a set of rules; you cannot arbitrarily pick and choose what you want or make new rules to fit your lifestyle. In God’s perfect order, His wisdom gives us peace. In California there is no peace.
The Real Facts
The Left used fear-inducing propaganda to gain the votes of the lost masses. Fear always works well with people who already have a mindset of confusion. The Left insisted that a woman would lose all her exceptions to have an abortion including the cases of rape and incest. The facts are that only 1% of abortions are due to rape and .05% are due to incest. Did we fail as Christians? Are we to blame? No, because in the end God is in control. We who understand who God is, are in mourning because many lives will be affected by this heinous law.
Abraham’s Altar
The Consecrated Land
California is a consecrated state. When the Spanish priests set foot on these grounds, they made altars and built Catholic churches up and down our state. This is what Abraham did in the book of Genesis. He built an altar, consecrated the land and made a sacrifice of praise and glory to God.
Abraham built four altars:
Altar of Praise: Genesis 12:7 New American Bible (Revised Edition)
7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said: To your descendants I will give this land. So Abram built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him.
Altar of Prayer: Genesis 12:8-13
Altar of Peace: Genesis 13:14-18 New American Bible (Revised Edition)
14 After Lot had parted from him, the Lord said to Abram: Look about you, and from where you are, gaze to the north and south, east and west; 15 all the land that you see I will give to you and your descendants forever. 16 I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth; if anyone could count the dust of the earth, your descendants too might be counted. 17 Get up and walk through the land, across its length and breadth, for I give it to you. 18 Abram moved his tents and went on to settle near the oak of Mamre, which is at Hebron. There he built an altar to the Lord.
Altar of Provision: Genesis 22:9-14 New American Bible (Revised Edition)
9 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. Next he bound his son Isaac, and put him on top of the wood on the altar. 10 Then Abraham reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham, Abraham!” “Here I am,” he answered. 12 “Do not lay your hand on the boy,” said the angel. “Do not do the least thing to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you did not withhold from me your son, your only one.” 13 Abraham looked up and saw a single ram caught by its horns in the thicket. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering in place of his son. 14 Abraham named that place Yahweh-yireh;hence people today say, “On the mountain the Lord will provide.”
There were 21 Catholic Missions established, from San Diego to San Francisco. Just as God assigned Abraham to get up and walk through the land, across its length and breadth, God asked this of all the holy priests including Junipero Serra, who founded nine of the California Missions. This was a commission from God. That is why out of the 21 missions, eight of them are still operating as parishes. We need to understand that God is in charge of California and this land is hollowed ground. El Camino Real (The Royal Way) led us to all the missions in California, and God continues to lead us in His Royal path. There is always hope when you look to the Light (John 8:12).
What we are experiencing in all the battles over our Christian rights is but a second to God. Sometimes it feels as if we will never come out of this chaos, but we will. There are saints in heaven assigned to each city who are interceding on our behalf. I can no longer get discouraged with the present because soon it will be the past.
California’s Protection
Our state is under the protection of God. The Bible states that when the Israelites sinned against God, God did not destroy Israel; rather He punished the people who sinned against Him. It may take a while for all of this to take place, but God will deal with all the sinful choices we have made. I pity the politicians who have led so many astray because they are not only accountable for their own sin but for leading their constituents amiss.
My Prayer
I thank You, Lord, for allowing us to live in this beautiful state. I pray that You soften the hardened hearts of those who do not understand the consequences of their actions. Lord, we wait for Your Holy Hand of judgment to fall on those stiff-necked, lost souls. Save them, Lord. I pray for every politician, including our governor, that You would speak to him in dreams and direct his path to do what is right in Your eyes. Amen.
